EPITEIA POLICE STATION, DAY 2
20:15 pm

Adaraka was waiting for me in his skycar, hands on his lap. As the cruiser took off, I switched my omni-tool and VITA into silence mode. "Have you done many death notifications?" I asked him.

"A few." Adaraka was less talkative, for obvious reasons. I figured the Caeplins would be more comfortable with seeing their own kind, even if he let me do all the talking. "You leading?"

I nodded and neatened my jacket in the glare of the window, trying not to look like as bedraggled as I felt. We were approaching the end of our 12-hour shift, and both of us knew we would be working overtime. "What do you think of the family? I've only met Teus, not his wife."

"Young for parents," he said. "Clean records. Keep to themselves." It was roughly the same as Sully told me this morning, but it seemed Adaraka had more to say. "I found them a bit arrogant, like the police were a bother to them."

It didn't matter what the Caeplins thought of us, I still had to tell them what happened to their son. There was no easy way to tell parents their child was dead, but I was a detective- with homicides, most victims knew their murderer. "Watch them, watch for a reaction. Anything that seems odd or out of place, you tell me."

"I can do that." Adaraka shifted in his seat, discomfited by the thought. "Laeta Caeplin has been confirmed as leaving work, they're both at home now, at least."

The journey was silent after that, and Adaraka's cleared throat was the only noise I had heard from him when we got out his cruiser. This time it was Laeta who answered the door, sleeves rolled up to her elbow.

She was less suspicious than her husband, but she still knew what two cops on her doorstop looked like. "What is it?" As we introduced ourselves with our omni-IDs in view, her browplates pinched in confusion. "What's happened?"

This time I could not tell her any words of comfort. "It would be better if we came in first. May we have half an hour of your time?"

"Not again," said Teus, rising from his chair. He was sitting in exactly the same place as he had been this morning, this time dressed in his work clothes. Laeta reached for his hand.

"May I sit?" A vague wave was given to their living room. As they gripped each other in reassurance, Adaraka got himself a chair from the kitchen. Once we were all settled, I could start. "A body of a young boy was found in the lake this afternoon."

They knew then, but they didn't let themselves believe it. "What happened?"

Adaraka looked away, eyes on the floor. I was lead, this was my burden. "We believe it is Juvus. I am so sorry for your loss."

I had to say the words twice before it sunk in for them. Teus keened, hands over his mouth as he finally understood. He said the word no over and over, a litany of grief.

Two minutes passed by and I let it. Laeta was still confused, even though I knew she had heard me. "But it can't be him," she said eventually. "What was he doing there? Juvus can't swim. I told him he should keep away from the water."

When I first started out as an officer, I assumed it would be easier to soften the blow of death notifications with gentle words and small talk, that I should smother the truth bit by bit. It is a crueler fate; grief always requires words in neat, plain lines.

"I can tell you all we know about what happened to your son," I said, eyes on them. "If it would help you." They would ask, I would have to answer; no half-truth would soothe their anguish, no matter what I said. "Some of what I say may upset or disturb you; please tell me to stop at any time, or if you need something repeated."

Laeta shook her head, her hands tightly bound with her husband's. "I don't understand. Why the lake? Did he drown?"

Knowing the words were light years away from saying them. "Juvus died of a gunshot wound to the head. We found his body in a crate."

I had to repeat my words again; Laeta froze, still refusing to hear them. "Are you sure it's Juvus?"

"It is. The bioscanners have confirmed it. I promise you I will find the person who did this."

"Why did someone shoot him?" Teus broke again, keening in sharp breaths. He curved around his unmoving wife, hands around his mouth. "Why was he in the lake?"

Laeta was a carved statue of grief. Vaguely she held her husband, still unsure by what she heard. "He's alone. He doesn't like being alone. I have to see him."

I was warned by CSI Vulis that Juvus Caeplin was in no state for a viewing, especially by those who had loved him the most. "I think perhaps that it is for the best that you do not. You would not recognise Juvus; his wounds were extensive."

"But I'm his mother. I would know him." Laeta frowned, angry I had said such a thing. Someone had shot their child at point black range, and I had to tell them I didn't know why, not yet. "I need to see my boy."

No matter the species, all had this compulsion. It was an odd instinct, the need to see the dead. I understood where it came from; my eyes were on the prayerbook when my father exhaled his last breath, but seeing his body after helped me.

-I held his cold hand when Shepard left us alone. I was still unsure why I did it, what was I supposed to-

"I cannot begin to imagine what you're going through," I said-

-the kitchen was stained with her blood, dried now. Why was Mami's blood black? Why was her body in a bag, why-

"-but understand I am going to do everything I can to find the person who did this to Juvus." I meant that, and hoped they could see that I did; I knew the entire station felt the same too. "I will turn this colony upside down if I have to."

Laeta understood now what had happened; I could see the mourning sink into her features, subvocals underlined in a keen. "Why would anyone- but he's a boy- why ?"

For once Adaraka spoke, lifting his eyes from the floor to do so. "Is there anyone we can call for you? Family, maybe. The Historian?"

Teus shook his head, his wife's grief pulling him from his own. "It's only us. My brother, maybe, but he's on Palaven. Have the other children been found?" he asked me.

"We found Juvus by himself. The search is still ongoing for the others."

It was the comment that finally broke Laeta. She collapsed against her husband's cowl once she finally realised what it was I was saying, limp with grief. "He doesn't like being alone," she said. "Why was he alone?"

I had given them half an hour, and we only had ten minutes of it left. "The press and media will know soon, you may be contacted by someone. I suggest you give them no comment."

"Can I see him?" Laeta asked again. "Please."

"I'm afraid not," I said. They both looked at me, asking the same questions over and over. Why was he shot? Why was in the lake? Is he alone? Why would anyone hurt him? In my gut I thought neither pulled the trigger; I would not interrogate them now on what they knew, but leave it to the morning.

"Is there really no one we can call for you?" said Adaraka. He had a point; you do not leave grieving relatives on their own, but at least they had each other. I would send Sully first thing to their home in the morning. "A friend from work, perhaps?"

Teus rocked Laeta in his arms, clearing his throat to speak. "I can call my brother. And work needs to know I'm not coming in."

"I think we have gone as far as we can for the moment. Do you remember Officer Sully? Your family liaison officer," I said to Teus. "We met this morning. Contact her or myself with anything, anything at all. You have our direct lines."

Adaraka and I said nothing when we got to his cruiser. I could see the death notification had affected him deeply, even though he had not said much of anything. "After you take me back, you can coordinate with Galnius over the search parties," I said. "But go home and eat something hot first, shower if you need to- then get back into it. Want you on overtime tonight, if you can manage it."

I'd say the same thing to them all, though Adaraka startled at the mention. "There's no need," he said.

"Take it." It was an order, not a suggestion. "I'll be doing the same after yours is done. We're people, not VIs."

The war had left so many families broken; the Caeplins should be surrounded by people to help them, to shield them from the fallout of losing their child. All they had were each other, but most couples of murdered children split from the strain; they needed help.

But I still had to do my job. Assume nothing, believe no one, check everything. Until CSI had finished with their report, there was not much else to do but chase up data and stare at information, and hope my presumption about the Caeplin's was right.

I sent most of the officers home for an hour bar Sully, who had let it slip that Icina Duvitus, one of the missing children's mothers, was in hospital. "What with all the commotion today I-"

I waved a hand at her. Sully was anxious she had done wrong in not knowing right away, but with the lack of bodies we had for this case, things would slip through the cracks. "It's okay. Hospitalised how?"

"Acute stress, so I've been told. She's been starving herself."

Odd that a woman who obsessively cooked for her neighbours wouldn't be eating. "Does she know about Juvus Caeplin?"

Sully shook her head. "I was waiting to see how you want to handle it sir," she said.

"I'll speak to her in the morning," I replied. A suffering mother starving herself in grief wasn't unheard of, but it was extreme. "Get in contact with her husband. Force him to come home. If he refuses, I'll issue a warrant."

I wondered what Icina already knew to have reacted so badly; on the Citadel we would've assumed it was the media. News escaped out of our control if scenes were badly handled, but I made sure Abi had nothing to go on. Abi-

-give you one hint, yeah? Watch the local news tonight. Pay attention to what is said.' I refused to look back and carried on walking, but Abi hadn't-

"Can you get the news on this thing?" I said, poking the vidscreen abandoned in the incident room.

"I don't think Abi will have anything for her show," said Sully. "No press release yet for Juvus Caeplin. But there's something on the Kaeruns Abtion case, I think? There was a statement this morning."

Sully passed me tiny bag of trail mix and the pair of us watched the screen standing up, too tired to sit down. I'm not sure what it was with this squad and feeding people, but I wasn't going to argue; I emptied the entire packet into my mouth as the awful local news jingle started up.

I was waiting for a murder report; what I got was a puff piece on the system's Primarch visiting Epiteia. "That's a hideous suit," I said between chews, looking at Abi's vomit inducing outfit. "Is she colour blind?"

-what would you know about style?' Oriana huffed, twisting the lacy shirt in her hands. 'All you wear is black and blue-

"Yeah Abi's fashion is, ah, infamous around here. She has like, an entire section on Epiteia's intranet dedicated to her suits. They are truly awful."

Abi droned on, a scarily perky newscaster voice that was light years away from what I had heard from her today. "Primarch Trenigius looks to open the Cultural Exchange Centre himself here on Epiteia in a month's time, and will attend the ceremony in person," she said, smiling at the camera. Still no mention of murdered children in lakes or old men shot in bathtubs. Curious.

"This Cultural Centre is what we fought for in the war," said the Primarch. The vid played on, this time recording from an old press office somewhere. "It will be a place of interspecies learning, where we can study from our allies. I am proud both of Epiteia and the Castellus system leading the way for the Hierarchy on this; we are making history for the turian people."

I paused the screen, heart in my throat as I recognised someone. It wasn't the Primarch or his words that interested me, but his aides in the shadows. "Well, shit."

Sully squinted at my handiwork. "Oh," she said, working it out. Though the colony markings were different, it was the same damn turian I saw, whispering something into the ear of an aide behind the podium. "You sure?"

"Yep."

I don't like coincidences. What was Abi getting at with her little hint to watch the news? That Blackwatch agents killed old men? That the Primarch had a special interest in Epitieia and it was related to the case? What did she even have ?

"It makes sense your man was here yesterday then," said Sully. "Captain AD probably knows more than me, but Epiteia is going to be swarming in the Primarch's men soon. Security sweep of the area, that sort of thing. He might not come now, though. What with the, ah, murders."

"Hmm," was all I said. Would Abi talk to me if I pushed her on what she knew? I could-

-I am in shit if they find out I know.' Abi whispered the words now, still frightened by something. "Like, Blackwatch secret service levels of shit-

It was past ten, and I was now sixteen hours into my shift. I needed a hot meal, a shower and a change of clothes. "Drop me off at the scene? I got to pick up my carrier." I would deal with Abi after I had done my duty with the searching; I was still the only one with a Kodiak capable of diving.

According to my law enforcement psychology lessons, any cop who felt the urge to visit the crime scene again was under a compulsion that should be dealt with immediately, since it reduced the act to an obsession. It was a sign that you needed to break off from the case before it consumed you, but I also needed to pick up my abandoned vehicle.

I could see Adaraka sitting on the picnic table, a kava mug in his hands. I was not the only detective on Epiteia with an urge to stare at the waters, but misery always did love company.

"Krios," he said, barely looking up from the floor. Sully flashed the siren once as she passed over us as a goodbye, heading back to the station.

"Adaraka." I sat next him on the bench, helping myself to my last crumbs of se'aus from my tin. "Thought I told you to take a break." I checked the time on my omni-tool; barely an hour after I sent him home.

He took a sip before he spoke again, shrugging. "I got enough. Bad day, huh?"

Understatement there, really. Adaraka sighed, fiddling with the plastic seal of his drink with dull talons; it seemed Galnius was not the only cop in need of comfort; Detective Adaraka had been quiet all day, but considering what we found, I didn't blame him.

"It's always different when it's kids," I said, placing the pinch under my lip.

He abandoned his kava with a snort. "This your normal, right? At C-Sec, I mean. Just an average shift on the Citadel."

I thought of the bodies I had seen pulled out of the vents of the Wards, of the duct rats and refugees -though who was what, now- dying for literal scraps of rations. I thought of the mother who killed her baby as soon as he was born, too sick to afford treatment, almost dead from birth trauma in the Lower Ward slums before we got there. "It's part of the job, yes." I said it sharper than I intended.

-bad day,' I said, head on her shoulder. Ori ran her thumbs down the spines of my fins, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, breathing in the scent of her neck. The waves could not drag me under when she held me, a solid warmth in my arms. 'My Ori, I'm-

My voice rasped and I cleared my throat. What I needed was a run to clear my head and a good night's sleep. No chance of either tonight, obviously. "We'll find the bastards."

Somehow my reaction had surprised him, and Adaraka looked away to hide it. "This is a quiet colony. Things like this don't happen often. Our last reported murder was twenty years ago."

It's strange. I read his file, I knew he fought in the war; both of us could rationalise the brutality of god machines ransacking the galaxy on an interstellar level, but the depravity of normal people could still catch us off guard. "You're a cop," I told him.

"That I am," he replied, giving me a mock salute. "I signed up for this, huh?"

Small communities might have fewer bastards than usual, but they existed- even in pleasant garden worlds. "It's not all ration theft and graffiti."

We both watched the rippling water, buffered by the trail of the passing carriers still drudging Lake Victory with their drones. "Epiteia was meant to be my fresh start." Adaraka leaned forward, his arms on his knees. "Moved here with my girl a few years back after the war."

A puzzle piece clicked into place. It didn't take a genius to grasp that 'his girl' wasn't around anymore, judging by how Adaraka seemed to flirt -and sleep- with anything in sight. "Oh?"

He shrugged, a human gesture. "This place is home for interspecies couples. Ones approved by the Hierarchy, anyway."

It was exactly in line with what Oriana had told me last night, and I wondered how long his government had been planning the venture. "Half the station seems that way inclined," I said, thinking of the Captain and Sully. Humans and turians were happy to pair up once they got past their physical differences, especially if both were military minded. "With humans, too."

"Yeah, funny how it goes. She was human, my Evangeline," he said. He looked away, voice soft. "Guess we understand each other a little bit better than most, huh?"

All I could do was shrug. It was not as if I could judge him his choice- my apartment was covered in so much fur the cleaning VI had troubles keeping up with it all, and what a fun guessing game it was to work out if it was Fish or Oriana shedding themselves all over my furniture and clothing.

I could've said that I was like him too, but it felt like a cruel dig; I had something he had lost. "Nothing wrong with that," I replied, idly wondering if my relationship with Ori would become station gossip somehow. I had already told Sully, after all.

"Most of the refugees are still turian obviously," he said, eyes on the lake still. "But the Primarch has high hopes for us, did you know? Wants to turn Epiteia into a multicultural paradise, or something. I was sold into the pitch, anyway. They're building a university and expanding the hospital around it, part of the reason we moved here- so Eva could get a job."

"It made the news," I replied. It also explained why a cop like him was here instead of a busier colony. Epiteia was the place you retired to, not build a career around. I presumed all the alien residents here were handpicked to trial the interspecies idea. "You can still move," I said. "If, ah, she's not around anymore."

Adaraka smiled, even if his words didn't match the gesture. "It didn't work out," he said. What loaded four little words they were.

I should call Oriana again- I needed to, even if she was still mad with me. "Sorry to hear that," I replied.

"Excrement happens, as Sully says. At least, I think that's what she says." He rubbed the back of his neck, almost apologetic at the overshare of his private life. "The universe doesn't stop just because I want it to, I guess. I should get back to work, since I'm in charge of the search parties."

"I'll join you in a few. I came to pick up my own," I said, gesturing to the carrier. "Going back to shower, then back to it." Back to the depths again, lucky me.

"No rest? You salarian?"

I shrugged, grinning. "I can cope. See you later, Adaraka."

The carrier still smelt of lake water as I drove it back to my temporary home. What I needed was a hot meal and a reminder of who I was, and in the silence of my prefab I had neither. If I was in my apartment, I would collapse on the couch and watch game show vids until Oriana came back- that would be my ideal. She would take one look at me and know I had a shit day and-

-the answer is Dragel. Idiots!' I said, folding my arms at the trivia vid. Fish startled herself awake from her corner of the couch, twitching her ears at the interruption; that I was watching vids on "her" bed was offensive enough. Oriana leaned against the kitchen counter, frowning at something. 'I think I ruined dinner again. You want takeou-

Ah, not that I would have time to indulge like that, especially on a case like this. Back in Zakera all I would do is eat over the sink and walk out again, who am I kidding?

Perhaps I relied too heavily on Oriana to chase the demons away. Behind every stressed cop there's always a loved one left to pick up the pieces, and I would not let her shoulder the burden again. Ori was still wrung out from my Internal Affairs inquiry; compassion was not an infinite source, even if she loved me.

I tried calling her anyway, only to get through to her Do Not Disturb message; she was either travelling or working, the usual with her. As I heated a ration pack, I sent a mail: 'I miss you. Bad day. I need to see you.'

The orange text blinked back at me from omni-tool window, and I deleted the words with a swipe. I knew I was selfish with my desires, but I still felt them. At least I had not become the disassociating stranger I was a month ago; I was in the here and now, despite the severity of the case.

With a sigh, I tried again. 'Got your vidmail this morning, though the line was bad. Look after yourself out there, and I hope work goes smoothly. I miss you, even miss the Fish. Talk soon. (Love from your Idiot.)'

I pushed aside my lava-like meal as soon as I sent her the message, and curled up on the musty smelling couch to let it cool. My unmade bed was only down the hall, but it felt like I had an ocean in the way to reach it. I had to go back to work soon, but I could indulge with a good memory, if only for a-

- my skin did not affect her as it used to, but a kiss was a kiss. Mithridatism, she called it. Weaned off from our constant need to tou-

"Intruder alert." VITA woke herself up, an orange glow disturbing my recollection. "Your blood sugars are low, Detective Krios. You should eat something."

"Fuck off," I hit where my omni-tool vibrated on my arm, reaching for my pistol in the other. As I opened the access panel I frowned. How by all the Gods would VITA know something like that? I did not connect her to the prefab's intranet system. Why would she be able to detect anything at all, was she malfunctioning?

"Intruder alert," she said again, overriding my silence on her alarm. "Hydronic levels are at a moderate level."

As the door hissed open, an info drone floated mid-air. It blinked its lights at me, probe extended into the lock. "Whoops," it said, flying off above my head.

Whoops? I scanned the horizon looking for whoever owned it. It could be part of the still running search party, but the thing looked too lightweight; a modded info drone, not a search vessel.

"This is C-Sec. Ah, the police. Stay where you are or I'll shoot." I was talking to a drone, unsure if I should override it or shoot. Instead I found myself watching it escape, reluctant to use my gun. Perhaps part of the search and rescue teams combing the lake still for the other missing children, despite fiddling with the locks of my prefab.

Why did VITA warn me? "VITA, search for intruders." I brought up her interface on my omni-tool, curious now.

"I do not understand the command," she said, orange lights blinking at me. "Would you like me to search for security programs?"

"No." With a huff I switched her off. I could just make out a silver light of the drone still, a lonely dot above the water.

"604 in progress over the lake, 500 metres from my position," I said, calling in the emergency line on my omni-tool. I had used the code for a suspicious person, even if was a mechanical VI. "Subject is an info-drone around 50 centimetres wide and heading your way."

"You want us to look for an info-drone," said Officer Terix, answering the commline first. He made no effort to keep the disbelief out of his reply. "As a suspect."

"Exactly that, yes. Glad your translators work." As soon as I said it, I knew it was a waste of time. Of course it was.

"Let me just clarify this DI Krios, just to make sure. You want us to stop looking for the missing children and instead look for a drone over a lake full of other drones. And it's a suspect for- what, exactly?"

"Watch your tone." For a turian, Terix had an abundant amount of sass. "Just- I don't know, keep an eye out while you're out there, it went towards you. Lightweight, fifty centimetres, blue lights."

"Right," he drawled. "I'll get on that. Terix out."

I punched the access point a little too hard when I reached my prefab. So much for a moment to myself, and went back to work. I had to find Kaeruns Abtion and Juvus Caeplin's killers, even if it meant no rest.